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CLUB FOOT (Talipes)

Categories: Deformities

Varieties:


1. The heel may be drawn up and the foot extended (Talipes Equinus).



2. The foot may be flexed, bent up, (Talipes Calcaneus).



3. The foot may be drawn inward, adducted, (Talipes Varus).



4. The foot may be drawn outward, abducted, (Talipes Valgus); or, two may

be combined, extended, and drawn inward (Equino Varus).



In the congenital (born with it)
variety the displacement is almost always

one of adduction, that is, drawn inward, with commonly some elevation of

the heel. It generally affects both feet, but it may be confined to one

and if only one is affected, the right is oftener affected than the left.

The deformity varies. At the time of birth and for some months afterwards

the deformity can usually be corrected by proper manipulation, but later,

if left to itself, it becomes in greater or less measure fixed, because of

the muscular contraction, and developed changes in the shape of the bones.



Cause--It is not known.



Treatment is successful if it is begun early. Each case should be treated

as it needs. The treatment should be varied to suit each case. Bandaging

or adhesive straps properly applied has been used with success. Sometimes

the leg must be kept motionless by plaster of Paris or gutta-percha

bandages. They must be frequently removed and reapplied. In older cases

the tendons must be cut and braces applied. Parents are careless who

neglect such a case for even one month.







INTOXICANTS AND SUN STROKES



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